ATTORNEYS ALLOWED TO QUESTION WILLE

The Fort Lauderdale attorneys who want to question Sheriff Richard Wille about his kennel business may do so, a federal judge has ruled despite an opposite ruling by another judge in a related case, Wille's attorney said Tuesday.

The judges also took opposite positions on whether the media can attend the sheriff's deposition, with Judge Sidney Aronovitz ruling this week that reporters may attend, attorney James Hicks said.

Aronovitz also ruled that Fort Lauderdale attorneys Marc H. Gold and Barbara Heyer may question Wille about buying and selling of imported West German dogs, Hicks said.

In February, Judge C. Clyde Atkins granted Hicks' motion to protect Wille from having to answer questions about the kennel. Atkins also barred the media from sitting in on Wille's as-yet unscheduled deposition.

Gold, elated by the ruling, said it would allow him to establish a pattern of improprieties in Wille's dog dealings. Showing that pattern, he said, is important to his two dog-bite lawsuits, one of which is being heard by Aronovitz and the other by Atkins.

In each case, Gold has alleged his clients' civil rights were violated when they were bitten by the Delray Beach police dog, "Cello," who was bought through the Sheriff's Office and trained there.

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the Treasure Coast State Attorney's Office have been conducting a criminal investigation of Wille and Sgt. Thomas P. McGinn, suspended head of the Sheriff's Office K-9 Unit, since Dec. 14, 1984. The probe, ordered by Gov. Bob Graham, focuses on the buying and selling of imported West German dogs.